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Leadership Team

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JODIE GATES, FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Jodie Gates is a choreographer, director, arts educator, stager, and dancer. Formerly, she was the Artistic Director of Cincinnati Ballet and the Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig Academy, as well as a principal ballerina with the Joffrey Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and international guest artist.

She is Founder and Artistic Director of Laguna Dance Festival based in Laguna Beach California, and Founding Director of the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance in Los Angeles. Jodie was a tenured Professor at the University of Southern California and University of California, Irvine. She is an accomplished choreographer, commissioned by several dance companies including Staatsballett Berlin, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet West, and Vail International Dance Festival, as well as choreographer for television commercials, a special event for singer/songwriter John Legend, and collaborated for a global ad campaign for Los Angeles Tourism. She is an artistic collaborator with William Forsythe, staging ballets for Forsythe Productions. She has staged ballets for Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Houston Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Teatro alla Scala Ballet, and Zurich Ballet among others.[/vc_column_text][ultimate_modal modal_title=”Jodi Gates” modal_on=”text” modal_on_align=”left” read_text=”READ MORE” modal_size=”medium” overlay_bg_opacity=”36″ img_size=”80″ txt_color=”#0b97ba” header_font_size=”desktop:24px;”]

Jodie Gates is a choreographer, director, arts educator, stager, and dancer. Formerly, she was the Artistic Director of Cincinnati Ballet and the Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig Academy, as well as a principal ballerina with the Joffrey Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and international guest artist.

She is Founder and Artistic Director of Laguna Dance Festival based in Laguna Beach California, and Founding Director of the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance in Los Angeles. Jodie was a tenured Professor at the University of Southern California and University of California, Irvine. She is an accomplished choreographer, commissioned by several dance companies including Staatsballett Berlin, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet West, and Vail International Dance Festival, as well as choreographer for television commercials, a special event for singer/songwriter John Legend, and collaborated for a global ad campaign for Los Angeles Tourism. She is an artistic collaborator with William Forsythe, staging ballets for Forsythe Productions. She has staged ballets for Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Houston Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Teatro alla Scala Ballet, and Zurich Ballet among others.

Her performing career began with the Joffrey Ballet in NYC where she originated many roles and worked with a host of renowned choreographers. She is featured in several publications and has appeared in numerous television programs and festivals. Her guest appearances include galas at The Maryinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg Russia; dancing Odette/Odile with Fernando Bujones in Swan Lake with Ballet de Monterrey Mexico; Juliet in John Cranko’s Romeo & Juliet at Lincoln Center in New York City, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and The Music Center in Los Angeles. She appeared at festivals in Spoleto Italy, The Edinburgh Festival, The Nijinsky Festival in Hamburg, Germany, and The Melbourne Festival in Australia. She has danced at the Bolshoi in Moscow, Bockenheimer Depot in Frankfurt Germany, Theatre du Chatelet and Theatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, among other established venues in the United States.

Jodie received a Psychology of Leadership Certificate from Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and studied with the Higher Education Leadership Program for Women at Bryn Mawr College. Honors include recognition for Arts Leadership by the American Association of University Women, Altria/ABT fellowship from American Ballet Theatre, and a recipient of the esteemed Jerome Robbins New Essential Works program. Most recently, she was awarded the distinguished 2021/2022 Residency Fellowship from The Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University. Her Fellowship acknowledged her most recent work addressing systemic racism and inequities within the culture of ballet.

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JOY DITTBERNER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Joy moved to Laguna Beach in 1999 with her husband Tom and quickly became involved in the community. For eight years she served on the Board of Friendship Shelter, a homeless shelter for adults. She spent a year as a docent at the Marine Mammal Center sharing all she knows about pennipeds with visitors.

Joy functioned as Volunteer Coordinator for the Laguna Dance Festival for four years prior to joining the board. Joy brings more than twenty years of experience in business development, marketing, sales and professional relations working in the pharmaceutical industry to the table. She loves yoga, travel, hiking and scuba diving. She is excited and honored to be involved with the Festival as it continues to bring world class dance to Laguna Beach. She is a graduate of UCSB in Biology and earned an MBA from the University of Utah.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” gap=”35″ css=”.vc_custom_1711654734483{background-color: #000000 !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text el_class=”white-copy”]

ANGEL ANDERSON, OPERATIONS MANAGER

AngelAngel Anderson comes to Laguna Dance Festival with a diverse background. With a degree in Fashion Design from Brooks College and a Graphics Design Certification from the University of California, Irvine she started her career by designing and merchandising for several brands such as Barefoot Miss and Athena Swimwear. After a career in fashion, Angel chaired many events for both school and sports while raising her three children. She and her daughter became very involved in the National Charity League and the Assisteens of Orange. Angel went back to work as the West Region Assistant for Pearson Education. Now Angel brings her varied background to Laguna Dance Festival as their Operations Manager.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text el_class=”white-copy”]

AMANDA KOENIG, PROGRAM COORDINATOR

AmandaAmanda Koenig is a Southern California native who began her dance training at the tender age of three. She earned her B.A. in Dance from California State University, Long Beach. Due to an injury, Koenig pivoted into Arts Administration to stay in the world she loved. She was part of the inaugural administration team for the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. During her tenure, Koenig was promoted to Administration Manager and finally, Director of Administration. After her second son was born, Koenig took some time off to be a stay-at-home mom and is excited to dive back into the performing arts with Laguna Dance Festival![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” gap=”35″ css=”.vc_custom_1711654756587{border-bottom-width: 2px !important;background-color: #000000 !important;border-bottom-color: #999999 !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text el_class=”white-copy”]

EILEEN KIM, SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

EileenEileen Kim (she/her) is a Korean American artist and educator. Eileen graduated from the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance with a BFA in Dance and a concentration in Choreography. During her time at USC, she worked on the USC Kaufman Communications Team, Dance Operations Team, and as the Social Media Manager for Blue 13 Dance. Alongside this work, she was the co-president of SC Choreographic Collective, producing, directing, and overseeing 5 productions throughout the academic year.

Eileen has danced professionally with Universal Ballet in Seoul, South Korea and is most currently dancing with Cincinnati Ballet’s Second Company. She is eager to bring her passion for photography, graphic design, video editing, digital storytelling, and communications to Laguna Dance Festival as the Social Media Manager.

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KRYSTAL MATSUYAMA-TSAI, ARTISTIC ASSOCIATE

KrystalKrystal Matsuyama-Tsai (she/her) is a movement artist, educator, and researcher born and raised in Southern California. She has danced professionally with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, BARE Dance Company, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and ENTITY Contemporary Dance. She has had the honor of performing works by choreographers in both commercial and concert dance industries including Bryan Arias, Peter Chu, Daniel Ezralow, Mike Esperanza, Alex Ketley, Jiří Kylián, Mia Michaels, Marissa Osato, and Dwight Rhoden, amongst others. As an educator, she has taught at various dance schools and programs across the Southwest and internationally in Costa Rica and Taiwan. Currently, Krystal is a freelance artist-educator on faculty at Chapman University and is a collaborating artist with Peter Chu’s chuthis. Additionally, she recently co-founded a community-focused dance organization, Hyphen Art House, with her colleague Megan Guise. She proudly holds her BFA and MFA degrees in Dance from the University of California, Irvine, and is thrilled to be a part of the Laguna Dance Festival as an Artistic Associate.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1711654767877{background-color: #000000 !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”white-copy”]

Careers

There are currently no openings to join the Laguna Dance Festival Team; please check back later[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]